Bethessi the Great
Bethessi was a true-blooded Algorian emperor who united the lands of men. His youngest son, Moros, defeated Lossun, the Sun God, and took his place. He is the father of Bethessi II, the fifty-sixth king of Algoria and the second of the Empire of Men. Life before becoming king When Bethessi was young, he trained to become a knight under his father, as his older brother was on the course to become king. The Algorians were some of the greatest fighters in the land, and were famous as warrior-poets; bards and skalds who sung songs of their adventures. Bethessi was no exception. Along with becoming a master warrior, magician, mariner, general, and bard, he was also fascinated by history. Becoming the heir Bethessi was the son of Mogrum XV, and was the fifty-fifth of the great Algorian tribal kings, or Rí, after the Great Diaspora. His eldest brother, Mogrum XVI, was slain by the Blue Giant, Throgg, along with their father, in the Algorian Highlands on the border of Akksing. They had been carrying on the fight to run the giants out of the highlands, as the Rí had been doing for centuries. Bethessi would end up avenging his father and brother when he became the heir to the throne. Challenging Throgg It is custom that all princes, or Glúin, perform a task to prove their worth before their coronation. Bethessi's father's task was to claim the sword Turranig from the bottom of Red Lake. In the grotto beneath the dark waters lived the beast Ödung, a water sprite said only to be able to be killed by its own sword, Turranig. Mogrum took the sword, killed Ödung, and was crowned king. Bethessi chose his task: to avenge his father and brother and slay Throgg. Bethessi traveled on horseback to the mouth of the Hrondus River, in the Highlands between Akksing and Algoria. There he found the giant's castle, Åkor, atop a great hill. Bethessi rode into the castle and challenged Throgg, and soon defeated him. When he returned to Caseldor he was made High King, Rí, over all Algoria, at the age of eighteen. He was called Bethessi the Mountain for his massiveness in both height and character. Bethessi's Conquests In his younger days Bethessi was fascinated by history and studied it constantly. He was intrigued by the Great Catavere Empire and wanted to reunite all the races of men under one flag as it once had. Over the course of thirty-four years Bethessi the Mountain, who after the Battle of Brown Valley gained the title "the Great," united the races of men along the southern and easern coasts of the Southern Sea. He divided the new Algorian Empire into six provinces and gave each its own governor that would answer only to him. Bethessi the Great's empire spread from the Kadd Mountains and the edge of the Ashlands, all the way to the northernmost highlands of Central Karindor. He drove the Lett from the lands to make his kingdom safer until only the forests and mountains still teemed with them. His Unification of the Tribes of Men marked the start of the First Era in the Nadaan Calendar. Rivalry with Gerinog the Red During Bethessi's conquests he and his army, along with a band of Gillian rebels from Asrael, rode through Gillia and drove the Lett into the forest. Some of these Lett were the korrgs, a race of goat-headed humanoids who were led by their Khnum, Gerinog the Red. The korrgs had lived in the Torullian River Valley for two thousand years, and did not take lightly to the armies of men driving them into Alancia and destroying their homes, desecrating their lands. Gerinog prayed to the gods to give him a way to defeat Bethessi and avenge his people. Pûmar, a Dhrellor, came to him, and promised him aid. He sent Gerinog one of his highest ranking Ifrits, the lords of the Djinn, to aid him in tracking down and destroying the Algorians. Gerinog and the Ifrit, called Udunmr, rallied the Lett of Alancia, korrgs, minotaurs, satyrs, and more, and created the Blackblood army. They allied with the Alune men of Grafton and Esumae to defend against Bethessi, as he was sure to come. When Bethessi and his army did come to Esumae, the Alune and the Blackbloods stood ready to defend their capital. Bethessi would be the first and last to ever successfully invade Alunland or any Alune lands after, such as Jenurog, other than the Brudrin Empire. Bethessi's leadership and the fire and devotion he inspired in his men, along with his genius strategics, allowed the battle to be won for him. The Blackbloods and Alune were overwhelmed, and the Lett retreated and the city was taken. When the battle was over, scouts followed the Algorians, and the Blackbloods were in pursuit, hiding from a distance. The Algorians made it to Brown Valley before Gerinog decided to attack again. Bethessi was planning to attack the hilltop fortress of Earthenholm, which was held by the Valsin and their Lett servants, the dogmen. They were camped by Lake Elsee, south of Oakrest, preparing for the assault the next day. The Blackbloods were to attack the soldiers from behind during the siege of Earthenholm. The much smaller group of soldiers in Earthenholm were holding the Algorians at bay from the plateau city. Eventually Bethessi's men found tunnels into the hill that led right into the city. This way they were able to take it from the inside. Before they could find the tunnels, however, the Lett attacked from the east, and Gerinog and Udunmr confronted Bethessi. The Djinn possessed Bethessi, but his strong will allowed him to fight off the Ifrit's power. The great warrior king was able to defeat Udunmr and banish him back to Drellovia, but Gerinog struck him down with a blow to the chest. Bethessi was badly wounded, but not dead, which Gerinog did not know. The Blackbloods retreated back to Alancia. For several years Khnum Gerinog the Red and the korrgs fought to take back the Torullian River Valley. In 3 1E, Gerinog caught wind that Bethessi was alive still and ruling over the lands of men. He made it his goal once more to find and kill him. He waited for the king to isolate himself, get away from the city, so he could strike. Within a few days Bethessi and a convoy of half a dozen knights traveled north to Sableton through the Highlands. There he set up an ambush with several of his soldiers. When Bethessi's convoy went through a pass in the hills they jumped out and attacked. The knights were slain but Bethessi escaped. He rode east to Port Rosgil and the korrgs followed. Many more of the Blackbloods were waiting to intercept Bethessi if the original plan were to fail. But Bethessi outrode them all. He reached Port Rosgil and alerted the guardsmen that an attack was imminent. So Gerinog and the Blackbloods unintentionally assaulted the city. They retreated, and the soldiers pursued them. It is said they chased them all the way across Catavere, all the way to the Verinthe Steppe, in far western Ellendwell, and there they engaged in battle, and Bethessi beheaded Gerinog the Red. Whether that is true or not, a monument to the battle stands in the Steppe, and the alliance of elves, along with the Knights of Esumae fought around it against the forces of Sjinkor in the Last Battle of the Great War. Bethessi's Descendants Bethessi began the Bethessi dynasty, the final line of true-blooded Algorian rule. As it often goes with great rulers, his descendants had trouble keeping the Empire held together, especially when the Great War came and tore Karindor apart. He himself had two sons, Bethessi II and Moros. Despite his elder son becoming the ruler of the world of men, Moros rose to even greater heights, defeating the sun god and taking his place after the War of the Flame. Death Bethessi died in 1E 35 when the wizard Neltuth delivered the news that his son was gone from that realm and Bethessi II, his eldest son, became Rí.